Allen County Public Health supports antibiotic awareness

Council highlights taking antibiotics when you don't need them puts you and your family at risk

Melissa Porter
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15 November, 2017, 04:04

The week of November 13-19 is U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week, and members of Virginia's health care community, including the Virginia Department of Health, the Medical Society of Virginia, Health Quality Innovators, and the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association are jointly supporting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Be Antibiotics Aware campaign. "Common colds and flus are, for example, caused by viruses, not bacteria, meaning that antibiotic therapy would be ineffective to treat these infections". As a result, many infections have become increasingly hard to cure-making millions of Americans sick and causing tens of thousands of deaths in the United States each year.

"Action to manage antibiotic use and control AMR in one sector must go hand-in-hand with enforcement of regulations in and collaboration with other sectors".

During Antibiotic Awareness Week, we recognize the often underappreciated threat that resistance to antibiotics poses to our Nation's health.

"We hope to increase the individual awareness of those on their personal use of antibiotics so that they use them correctly", Stegelmeier said. "We fully support the Be Antibiotics Aware campaign and its emphasis on proper use of antibiotics and commitment to prescription best practices". They should only be used for bacterial infections that the body's own immune response can not fight, and only when a doctor prescribes them.

A systematic review published last week in The Lancet Planetary Health found that interventions that restrict antibiotic use in food-producing animals reduced antibiotic-resistant bacteria in these animals by up to 39 per cent.

Professor Alison Holmes, Director of the NIHR HRPU in Healthcare Associated Infection and Antimicrobial Resistance, said: "Antibiotic resistance is a serious global threat and we are already seeing its impact first hand in the NHS".

Staff and students will be able to surrender their unused or out of date antibiotics for safe disposal at the Sherfield Building on South Kensington campus and the Commonwealth Building at Hammersmith, between 12:00-13:30.

"Stewardship programmes only work when everyone is on the same page". We will strengthen our collaboration with global partners and empower our Nation's greatest minds to develop new vaccines, diagnostic tests, and medications to prevent, diagnose, and treat infections. Up to 50 percent of all the antibiotics prescribed for people are not needed or are not optimally effective as prescribed. "The MSV, along with all of our partners in health care, are dedicated to helping you provide effective, comforting, and responsible treatment plans for infectious diseases, and using these incredibly important medicines responsibly".